Interesting - the Mayor and the 3 citywide at-large Park Commissioners are
the specific 4 people entrusted to use a citywide vision when approaching
planning and decision making for the City of Minneapolis. I can tell you
as one of those citywide people I truly have a city wide vision that
includes many of the ideas not only in Fran's and Russell's e-mails but
many of those who support me with information, ideas and solutions to
issues. I have gotten great ideas from many of you on this list. But I
want you to also know how difficult it is to implement a city-wide vision
and plan when most of the decision makers are defending their own fiefdom.
This is why I support the concept of a change in the Council number to
allow for city-wide members whose thinking might have more weight in the
bigger scheme of things. This may not solve the large development issues
but I bet it would go a long ways to help decisions about our city seem
more fair, especially for the neighborhoods.
At 09:32 PM 11/20/00 -0600, Fran Guminga wrote:
>Russ Peterson wrote:
>
>"Imagine if we focused redevelopment on avenues and streets radiating
>and stretching way into the neighborhoods instead of just one or two blocks
>downtown. Does anybody have thoughts?"
>
>The kind of planning Russ promotes was done in south Mpls in pre-WWII times.
>Does anyone in south Mpls believe "the lakes" do not "radiate" into the
>neighborhoods? Ditto for the gorge area of the river and the park system.
>Somehow, city-wide planning that has respect for and reaches into the
>community has disappeared. Perhaps it happened with the growth of the
>suburbs when Mpls and St. Paul were no longer the center of urban life. We
>are expendable; people don't have to live here. Our city has become just
>another real estate opportunity.
>
>Freeways and artificially created job, entertainment, recreation and transit
>centers have become the new focus of urban planning and development. Could
>we create the Mpls park system today? Not likely. The real estate would be
>too valuable for other uses.
>
>Those of us involved in upper river corridor redevelopment have been
>advocating ideas similar to Russell's for riverfront and neighborhood
>redevelopment north of downtown. Bottineau Citizens in Action included such
>thinking in its Bottineau Comprehensive Plan (1993) that predated the NRP
>Plan. We have been suggesting that the river become a focus for community
>life throughout the north end of the city. Utilizing "fingers" from the
>river to schools, churches, parks and commercial corridors and encouraging a
>"village" concept for housing and commercial development have been suggested.
>
>In 1995 northeast residents representing 11 of the 13 NE neighborhoods
>presented a plan to Hennepin County for a Hennepin Community Works project
>that would have connect all community elements. It would have initiated a
>series of projects to create what we called "bridges" within the community.
>Those bridges were physical, commercial, social and emotional. They were
>designed to link us together as a community and to create links to other
>communities.
>
>None of these plans was ever implemented.
>
>The Upper River Master Plan is becoming another conglomeration of
>parcel-by-parcel development projects focused on a few blocks at a time
>(usually "razing and high rising") rather than creating an integrated plan
>for the entire community. Whether downtown, riverfront or LRT transit ways,
>we continue to create projects that have no connection to the surrounding
>community.
>* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>* * * *
>F. Guminga
><[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
>
Annie Young
Ward 6 - East Phillips in Minneapolis
Citywide at-large Park Board Commissioner
Working to build a sustainable community
